NEW YORK PUSHES WINNING STREAK TO FIVE WITH WIN AGAINST EMPIRE STATE

Empire State vs New York

New York hit three home runs and Ryan Munoz and three relievers combined to shutout Empire State for a second successive night as the Boulders won their fifth straight game, a 10-0 blanking of the visiting Greys on Saturday at Clover Stadium in Pomona.

Gabriel Garcia opened the scoring with a solo home run, his 13th of the season, in the second inning for New York. The Boulders doubled their lead an inning later when David Vinsky hit a long home run to center - the homer his 14th of the year.

New York then tacked on three runs in each of the next two innings. In the fourth, Max Smith accounted for all three runs with his 11th home run of the year; in the fifth, the Boulders got a run-scoring single from Garcia and sacrifice flies by Giovanni Garbella and Gian Martellini.

Vinsky's third hit of the night, a double, increased the Boulders' advantage to 9-0 in the eighth inning before an Austin Dennis sacrifice fly capped off the night's scoring.

Munoz started and got the win for New York, going the first five innings and allowing three hits. He struck four and did not walk a batter as he improved to 3-2 on the season. It was Munoz' first start of the year after 18 relief appearances.

Justin Alintoff followed Munoz to the mound and tossed two scoreless innings. Dan Goggin and Leo Pineda closed out the victory for the Boulders with an inning apiece.

Jordan Warecke made his debut for the Greys and surrendered two runs on four hits over three innings of work and took the loss.

Sussex County vs Ottawa Titans

Clay Fisher's walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth, secured an Ottawa Titans (42-29) 6-5 victory over the Sussex County Miners on Saturday night.

After a narrow defeat a night ago, the Titans sent left-hander Evan Grills (ND, 4-4) to the bump for the middle game of a crucial series with the Miners, who tacked on two runs in the top of the first.

Jawuan Harris' one-out double came across to score as Juan Silverio singled to open the scoring. next up, Martin Figueroa wasted little time with a base hit to right, sending Silverio across the diamond to third. David Maberry lifted a sacrifice to fly against his old 'mates, making it 2-0.

For a second-straight game, the Titans got a pair of singles to open up the bottom of the first against southpaw Michael Mediavilla (ND, 4-6), as AJ Wright and Tyrus Greene reached. After a sac bunt from Jackie Urbaez, a sac fly to left from Jake Sanford put the Titans on the board. After Fisher reached, Brendon Dadson lined a single to right, scoring a pair to make it 3-2.

Both starters settled down for a scoreless second when Harris belted a solo shot to centre off Grills to tie the game at three in the third.

The Titans shrugged off the Harris homer to put two on in the bottom half against Mediavilla when Kai Moody laced a two-run single to right-centre, putting the Titans back ahead at 5-3.

Grills would go on to allow just one hit, an Oraj Anu double in the fourth, over the following three innings to keep the Titans ahead.

After Anu's second hit of the night, a leadoff single in the seventh, Yanio Perez blasted a two-run shot to centre, knotting the game up at five.

As the Titans could only garner one hit over five innings, the Miners could not tack on the go-ahead run as two reached against Grills in the top of the eighth.

The lefty would get the hook after seven and a third of five-run ball, as Grills allowed ten hits, and struck out eight in a no-decision. Gavin Sonnier would retire Maberry with a fly-out to centre to end the threat and to close the line on the Titans' starter.

Kevin Escorcia (win, 2-2) surrendered a one-out hit in the ninth and struck out a pair, giving the Titans a chance in the bottom half.

After James Mulry (loss, 6-5) plunked Greene with one out, the lefty got a big strikeout of Urbaez for the second out and had the ballgame on the verge of heading to extras. Sanford lined a base-hit to centre, setting up Fisher's RBI double down the right-field line to plate the winning run.

The walk-off heroics put the Titans one game ahead of the Miners for second in the East Division, on Fisher's second game-ending knock in the span of two weeks.

Gateway vs Evansville

The Gateway Grizzlies used solid pitching and clutch, two-out hitting to will their way to a 4-2 victory over the Evansville Otters on Saturday night at Bosse Field, snapping a three-game losing streak overall and putting to bed a nine-game losing skid against their West Division rivals. 

Clint Freeman opened the scoring with a two-out solo home run against Evansville starter Justin Watland in the top of the second inning, giving the Grizzlies a short-lived 1-0 lead before Steven Sensley also hit a solo shot of his own off Brendan Feldmann (6-6), tying the game at 1-1. Until the sixth inning, that was both clubs' only hit, as the starters settled into the game.  

In the sixth, with a runner on first and two outs, the Grizzlies grabbed a one-run lead again when Zach Racusin reached on an infield hit and Trevor Achenbach followed with an RBI double inside third base. But again, the Otters tied the score on J.R. Davis' sacrifice fly in the bottom half, and also threatened to take the lead. Feldmann responded by striking out Elijah MacNamee looking and getting a popup from Tanner Craig to keep the game tied.  

Then, in the seventh, back-to-back two-out walks by reliever Zach Smith (0-1) opened the door for the Grizzlies, and former Otter Andrew Penner came up clutch with an RBI single, making the score 3-2 Gateway. Feldmann and Sam Gardnertossed scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth, respectively, to make the lead stand up, and with two outs in the ninth, another walk drawn by Abdiel Diaz and a stolen base preceded another clutch RBI knock from Penner, expanding the lead to 4-2.  

The Otters threatened again in the bottom half, loading the bases with two outs to put the tying run in scoring position and the potential winning run on base, but Gardner struck out Andy Armstrong swinging to secure the huge road win, evening the series at one game apiece. 

Florence vs Joliet

The Florence Y'alls scored multiple runs in four different innings and scored in five innings overall to beat the Joliet Slammers 13-4 Saturday night at Duly Health and Care Field.  

After not scoring until the seventh inning last night, Florence wasted no time tonight with a three spot in the first inning. Craig Massey and Bryant Flete had the RBI hits. Joliet would come within a run in the bottom of the second inning, but the 3-2 score is the closest the ballgame would get for the rest of the evening.

After a few scoreless frames, Florence (31-39) scored in four consecutive innings: two runs in the fifth, one in the sixth, two in the seventh, and five in the eighth. Ethan Stern hit a pair of two-run doubles over that span. Brennan Price, Rodney Tennie, and Massey also contributed RBI hits. 

It was a sloppy night of pitching, especially on the Joliet side. The Slammers (34-36) walked 10 batters, including five from starter Cam Aufderheide alone. The All-Star takes the loss after five 1/3 innings and six runs allowed. The Y'alls walked seven batters, but did get a good start from Griffin Baker. The lefty allowed three runs (two earned) in five 2/3 innings to earn the victory. With the game in hand, shortstop Alberti Chavez pitched the ninth inning and struck out a batter. 

Every batter in the Y'alls' starting lineup had at least one hit, with Massey leading the way with three knocks. Paxton Wallace finished 2-3 with a home run for Joliet, and Phillip Steering had two hits as well.  

New Jersey vs Tri-City

The New Jersey Jackals and Tri-City ValleyCats faced off for the second time in the three game weekend series Saturday night at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium.

New right hander Kyle Arjona would take the mound for Tri-City, opposing him was southpaw Zack Miednik, making his second start of the season. 

The newest ValleyCat would retire the first two Jackals to come to the dish, but would surrender back to back singles to Dalton Combs and Alfredo Marte, putting a runner in scoring position with two outs. The right hander would induce a line out from Justin Wylie to put a stop to the visitors early threat.

The offense for Tri-City showed up early. Cito Culver would work a lead off walk to start the home half of the first. Following a Pavin Parks fly out, 'Cats second baseman Brantley Bell would launch a fastball from Miednik over the left center field wall. Denis Phipps would reach base, drawing a walk. First baseman Brad Zunica would fly out, bringing Carson McCusker to the plate with two away. The right fielder would go opposite field on a Miednik breaking ball over the visitors bullpen, plating the third and fourth runs of the inning. 

After sending nine batters to the plate in the first inning, Cito Culver would lead the home half of the second with his second walk in as many innings, with Bell following his middle infield counterpart. Third baseman Pavin Parks would clear the bases with a two run double, adding to the Tri-City lead. Phipps would be retired for the first out of the inning, bringing Zunica to the plate with a runner in scoring position. The first baseman would blast a two run shot of his own, plating the seventh and eighth runs of the game. 

 The Jackals would crack the Arjona code in the fourth inning, with back-to-back blasts from Jason Agresti and George Bell JR, plating the first three New Jersey runs of the game. 

Tri-City would plate three more in the bottom of the fifth inning, Brantley Bell drove in his third run of the game with a single. Following a Pavin Parks walk, the two base runners would attempt a double steal. The steal attempt was successful, but Agresti would misfire the throw to second into center field, bringing Bell around to score. Zunica would drive in his third run of the game with a bloop single to shallow center field. Brantley Bell would record his fourth RBI of the game in the sixth with a single. The 'Cats second baseman would finish the night 5-5. 

The Jackals would plate a run in both the seventh and eighth frames, but would not be enough to ignite the Jackals offense. Pavin Parks would drive home the final run of the night with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning. 

Trois-Rivières vs Quebec 

The Trois-Rivières Aigles defeated the Quebec Capitales by a score of 6-4 on Stade Canac on Saturday night. 

The Quebec Capitales got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second with a double from David Glaude. 

Glaude would add another run in the bottom of the fourth with a sacrifice fly. 

The Aigles would get on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth when Juan Santana hit a single to left field to make it 1-3. 

Quebec would add one more run when everyone would advance on a wild pitch.

The Aigles would score a couple runs over the next few innings to win the game 6-4. 

Tucker Smith would get the win for the Aigles while Samuel Adames would get charged with the loss. 

Lake Erie vs Washington

Lake Erie (34-37) coming off a tough loss where they led early on, had an opportunity to bounce back on Saturday night. They faced off against the Washington Wild Things (46-25), a team that has had the Crushers number all season long.

For the second game in a row, the Crushers were the first team to lead. It was a strong pitching effort from five pitchers that helped keep their lead and hold Washington to one run. The Crushers evened the series with a 5-1 win. 

The first two innings were scoreless for both teams, but in the third and sixth inning Lake Erie scored three runs. In the third, Connor Owings continued his hot stretch with a two RBI double to right field, his fifth RBI of the series. In the sixth, Kenen Irizarry scored on a wild pitch, extending the lead to three. 

The Crushers pitching had their struggles in the Friday night loss, but bounced back in a great performance on Saturday. Recently acquired Nathan Holt received the start for Lake Erie. Holt previously appeared in Thursday night's game out of the bullpen. He threw four scoreless innings, allowed no runs, one walk, and struck out three. In the fifth inning, another recently acquired Crusher appeared in the game. Josh Zeboskey in his Crusher debut threw an inning and a third, didn't allow a hit or run with three strikeouts. Trevor Kuncl was the next Crusher to appear. The righty threw an inning and two thirds scoreless, with two strikeouts. In the eighth inning, Cam Roth called his right hand man Sam Curtis out of the bullpen. Curtis, who threw a scoreless inning in last night's loss, once more continued his great season with a shutout eighth inning on two strikeouts. 

Lake Erie up by three, added insurance runs in the ninth inning. Irizarry provided a key two RBI single to center field, extending the lead to five.  

Crusher closer Alexis Rivero appeared in the ninth inning for a non-save opportunity. Washington didn't go down without a fight. Hector Roa put Washington on the board for the first time with an RBI single to center field. The Wild Things with the bases loaded and one out, had two opportunities with the tying run at the plate. Rivero closed the door on the Washington comeback, recording the final two outs, stranding the bases loaded, helping Lake Erie secure a 5-1 win. 

Windy City vs Schaumburg 

The ThunderBolts hit four homers and scored eight runs but fell short by a 17-8 final to the Boomers in a slugfest at Schaumburg's Wintrust Field Saturday night.

The Boomers (37-32) got off to a hot offensive start, scoring four runs in the first inning. Clint Hardy started it with a triple and scored on a groundout. Two walks and a two-run single from Will Salas helped extend the first-inning lead to 4-0.

Jairus Richards homered to lead off the top of the second, pulling the ThunderBolts (26-43) within three runs but Schaumburg put another four-spot on the board in the bottom of the inning. Mike Hart hit an RBI double in the rally and Chase Dawson extended his Frontier League record with his 20th triple of the season. Dawson hit his 21st later in the game.

The ThunderBolts showed no quit, scoring three runs in the top of the third. Nikola Vasic hit a solo home run and Richards hit a two-run shot, his second of the game.

Two more runs for the Boomers in the third made it 10-5 but the Bolts tightened it again. Daryl Myers brought in a run on an RBI groundout in the fourth and Bren Spillane homered in the fifth to again make it a three-run game.

Schaumburg, though, never slowed down. They scored three in the bottom of the fifth and four in the seventh. Hardy and Dawson each finished with four hits and Dawson and Braxton Davidson both scored four times.

Richards had a banner game for the ThunderBolts with two homers, four RBIs and a scoreless inning pitched in the loss.

Aaron Glickstein (5-4) was the winning pitcher despite allowing seven runs in five innings. Bryan Ketchie (3-5) gave up ten runs (eight earned) in 2.1 innings for the loss.